Supreme_Being
07-16-2009, 12:07 PM
link: http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/fran_blinebury/07/16/southwest.division/index.html
Southwest Division breakdown: Spurs come back to life
By Fran Blinebury, NBA.com
Posted Jul 16 2009 11:41AM
How many times does the world have to throw shovels full of dirt on top of the San Antonio Spurs before everyone understands that they have more lives than Jason and Freddy Krueger in one of the horror flicks?
The Southwest Division continues to be one tough neighborhood with plenty of rough characters up and down the lineup and likely another fiercely-contested race in the making.
But you've got to give the early edge to the Spurs, who have hardly spent the summer idling around at the beach after being bounced from the Playoffs in the first round by Dallas. First they got younger and more dynamic by adding Richard Jefferson to the front line. Then they scored a coup by luring Antonio McDyess to the Alamo City.
The Mavericks were nothing less than bold in acquiring Shawn Marion, re-signing Jason Kidd and making a bid to add Marcin Gortat. They're all in for the remaining prime seasons of Dirk Nowitzki's career and are intent on being a real factor in the West.
If the Hornets stay healthy, they have the ability to challenge again for the division, but depth remains a problem. The Rockets couldn't have fallen faster if they stepped into an empty elevator shaft with Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady on the shelf and Ron Artest having fled to the Lakers. The Grizzlies, as usual, are starting over.
San Antonio Spurs
Gained -- Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, Marcus Haislip, DeJuan Blair
Lost -- Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto, Kurt Thomas
Up in the air -- It's all about keeping the big three healthy. If Manu Ginobili can bounce back from a season in which he played just 44 games due to injuries to the left ankle and right leg, things will be easier on Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, too.
Early projection for 2009-10 season -- There are no talent pugs in boxing gyms all across the globe that haven't been counted out at many times as the Spurs. When they were dusted aside by the Mavericks in the first round last spring, the experts were again marking the end of the line for the team that had won four championships in the last decade. But they've still got Duncan, Parker and Ginobili, which isn't a bad place to start. Then the braintrust of Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford was able to pull off a coup in getting Jefferson to add young legs (and some pop) into an aging lineup. The addition of McDyess via free agency was just what the doctor ordered in terms of scoring, rebounding and defense off the bench. To top it all off, the Spurs had the college game's best rebounder in Blair fall right into their laps on draft night. Hold the obituaries. There's still plenty of life left in the Spurs.
Dallas Mavericks
Gained -- Shawn Marion, Kris Humpries, Nathan Jawai, Greg Buckner, Nick Calathes, Rodrigue Beaubois, Quinton Ross
Lost -- Brandon Bass, Jerry Stackhouse, Devean George, Antoine Wright.
Up in the air -- The best-laid plans of the Mavs took a kick to the shins when Orlando stepped up and matched the free agent offer sheet to Gortat. With Orlando also luring away free agent Bass, things are suddenly thin up front in Dallas. Attention has now turned to plucking Lamar Odom away the Lakers, which would ease the pain.
Early projection for 2009-10 season -- Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson and Rick Carlisle wasted no time in pushing their entire stack of chips into the middle of the table in Dallas. In short, the Mavs are "all in." With Nowitzki having just turned 31, this is a team that knows there is no time like the present. The Mavs have finally licked their wounds sufficiently from their 2006 pratfall in the NBA Finals and are ready to compete for the top prize again. The addition of Marion gives them another wing man to run like the wind and the re-signing of 35-year-old point guard Kidd says this is a team that is only looking at the present. And the present is bright.
New Orleans Hornets
Gained -- Darren Collison, Marcus Thornton
Lost -- None
Up in the air -- For a team that is already thinner than the top layer of pond ice on an early spring day, the Hornets now are hamstrung by money problems. Those could could have been settled by selling off assets for cash, but they're in no position to significantly boost a roster that needs help.
Early projection for 2009-10 season -- It was less than a year ago when the Hornets were everyone's darlings and a fashionable pick to win the Southwest and maybe even go deep into the Playoffs. But they were never able to regain their momentum. Injuries and lack of concentration pulled them back into the pack. That free agent deal that looked so sweet when Peja Stojakovic was healthy and on the court two years ago has turned increasingly sour. Tyson Chandler was already traded away once (and OKC cancelled the deal) and it only seems a matter of time before he's shipped out again. The Hornets still have their solid 1-2 punch in All-Stars Chris Paul and David West, but the rest of the lineup is anything but a knockout.
Houston Rockets
Gained -- Trevor Ariza, Chase Budinger, Jermaine Taylor, David Andersen
Lost -- Ron Artest
Up in the air -- The short-term future of the franchise is sickly as the season will open without Yao (stress fracture left foot) and McGrady (microfracture surgery left knee, left shoulder surgery). Toss in the departure of free agent Artest and the Rockets will be missing two-thirds of the offense from opening night a year ago. They are desperately seeking a big man to play the middle.
Early projection for 2009-10 season -- The Rockets barely got a chance to congratulate themselves on the franchise's best effort in more than a decade before the roof fell in. They won a playoff series for the first time since 1997 and were the only team able to take the eventual champion Lakers to a Game 7 in the Playoffs. But with McGrady already out until probably mid-season, the Rockets got word that the stress fracture that brought an early end to Yao's season didn't heal. Surgery is imminent. Ariza was a decent pickup from the Lakers, but he's another catch-and-shoot guy like Shane Battier. The Rockets still don't have anyone except Aaron Brooks who can get his own shot and they have a gaping hole in the middle of their lineup. Can Australian import Andersen and second-year man Dorsey take Yao's place? Hard times are ahead.
Memphis Grizzlies
Gained -- Hasheem Thabeet, Zach Randolph, DeMarre Carroll, Sam Young
Lost -- Darko Milicic, Quinton Ross, Greg Buckner
Up in the air -- Are they rebuilding? Are they simply putting a lineup on the floor? Are they trying to go young?
Early projection for 2009-10 season -- Like a broken compass, the Grizzlies have absolutely no sense of direction. Just when you figure they're going young and fresh with the draft picks of Thabeet, Carroll and Young, they turn around and do something inexplicable like take on the last two years of Randolph's burdensome contract. Why not use their salary cap room to make a run at David Lee, as many had suspected? Maybe because it's owner Michael Heisley calling the shots and he'd rather be able to dump Randolph's deal in two years than give long-term big money to Lee. They have a couple of scoring thoroughbreds in Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo, but it looks like another season of finishing way out of the money and heading back to the lottery. Again.
Southwest Division breakdown: Spurs come back to life
By Fran Blinebury, NBA.com
Posted Jul 16 2009 11:41AM
How many times does the world have to throw shovels full of dirt on top of the San Antonio Spurs before everyone understands that they have more lives than Jason and Freddy Krueger in one of the horror flicks?
The Southwest Division continues to be one tough neighborhood with plenty of rough characters up and down the lineup and likely another fiercely-contested race in the making.
But you've got to give the early edge to the Spurs, who have hardly spent the summer idling around at the beach after being bounced from the Playoffs in the first round by Dallas. First they got younger and more dynamic by adding Richard Jefferson to the front line. Then they scored a coup by luring Antonio McDyess to the Alamo City.
The Mavericks were nothing less than bold in acquiring Shawn Marion, re-signing Jason Kidd and making a bid to add Marcin Gortat. They're all in for the remaining prime seasons of Dirk Nowitzki's career and are intent on being a real factor in the West.
If the Hornets stay healthy, they have the ability to challenge again for the division, but depth remains a problem. The Rockets couldn't have fallen faster if they stepped into an empty elevator shaft with Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady on the shelf and Ron Artest having fled to the Lakers. The Grizzlies, as usual, are starting over.
San Antonio Spurs
Gained -- Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, Marcus Haislip, DeJuan Blair
Lost -- Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto, Kurt Thomas
Up in the air -- It's all about keeping the big three healthy. If Manu Ginobili can bounce back from a season in which he played just 44 games due to injuries to the left ankle and right leg, things will be easier on Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, too.
Early projection for 2009-10 season -- There are no talent pugs in boxing gyms all across the globe that haven't been counted out at many times as the Spurs. When they were dusted aside by the Mavericks in the first round last spring, the experts were again marking the end of the line for the team that had won four championships in the last decade. But they've still got Duncan, Parker and Ginobili, which isn't a bad place to start. Then the braintrust of Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford was able to pull off a coup in getting Jefferson to add young legs (and some pop) into an aging lineup. The addition of McDyess via free agency was just what the doctor ordered in terms of scoring, rebounding and defense off the bench. To top it all off, the Spurs had the college game's best rebounder in Blair fall right into their laps on draft night. Hold the obituaries. There's still plenty of life left in the Spurs.
Dallas Mavericks
Gained -- Shawn Marion, Kris Humpries, Nathan Jawai, Greg Buckner, Nick Calathes, Rodrigue Beaubois, Quinton Ross
Lost -- Brandon Bass, Jerry Stackhouse, Devean George, Antoine Wright.
Up in the air -- The best-laid plans of the Mavs took a kick to the shins when Orlando stepped up and matched the free agent offer sheet to Gortat. With Orlando also luring away free agent Bass, things are suddenly thin up front in Dallas. Attention has now turned to plucking Lamar Odom away the Lakers, which would ease the pain.
Early projection for 2009-10 season -- Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson and Rick Carlisle wasted no time in pushing their entire stack of chips into the middle of the table in Dallas. In short, the Mavs are "all in." With Nowitzki having just turned 31, this is a team that knows there is no time like the present. The Mavs have finally licked their wounds sufficiently from their 2006 pratfall in the NBA Finals and are ready to compete for the top prize again. The addition of Marion gives them another wing man to run like the wind and the re-signing of 35-year-old point guard Kidd says this is a team that is only looking at the present. And the present is bright.
New Orleans Hornets
Gained -- Darren Collison, Marcus Thornton
Lost -- None
Up in the air -- For a team that is already thinner than the top layer of pond ice on an early spring day, the Hornets now are hamstrung by money problems. Those could could have been settled by selling off assets for cash, but they're in no position to significantly boost a roster that needs help.
Early projection for 2009-10 season -- It was less than a year ago when the Hornets were everyone's darlings and a fashionable pick to win the Southwest and maybe even go deep into the Playoffs. But they were never able to regain their momentum. Injuries and lack of concentration pulled them back into the pack. That free agent deal that looked so sweet when Peja Stojakovic was healthy and on the court two years ago has turned increasingly sour. Tyson Chandler was already traded away once (and OKC cancelled the deal) and it only seems a matter of time before he's shipped out again. The Hornets still have their solid 1-2 punch in All-Stars Chris Paul and David West, but the rest of the lineup is anything but a knockout.
Houston Rockets
Gained -- Trevor Ariza, Chase Budinger, Jermaine Taylor, David Andersen
Lost -- Ron Artest
Up in the air -- The short-term future of the franchise is sickly as the season will open without Yao (stress fracture left foot) and McGrady (microfracture surgery left knee, left shoulder surgery). Toss in the departure of free agent Artest and the Rockets will be missing two-thirds of the offense from opening night a year ago. They are desperately seeking a big man to play the middle.
Early projection for 2009-10 season -- The Rockets barely got a chance to congratulate themselves on the franchise's best effort in more than a decade before the roof fell in. They won a playoff series for the first time since 1997 and were the only team able to take the eventual champion Lakers to a Game 7 in the Playoffs. But with McGrady already out until probably mid-season, the Rockets got word that the stress fracture that brought an early end to Yao's season didn't heal. Surgery is imminent. Ariza was a decent pickup from the Lakers, but he's another catch-and-shoot guy like Shane Battier. The Rockets still don't have anyone except Aaron Brooks who can get his own shot and they have a gaping hole in the middle of their lineup. Can Australian import Andersen and second-year man Dorsey take Yao's place? Hard times are ahead.
Memphis Grizzlies
Gained -- Hasheem Thabeet, Zach Randolph, DeMarre Carroll, Sam Young
Lost -- Darko Milicic, Quinton Ross, Greg Buckner
Up in the air -- Are they rebuilding? Are they simply putting a lineup on the floor? Are they trying to go young?
Early projection for 2009-10 season -- Like a broken compass, the Grizzlies have absolutely no sense of direction. Just when you figure they're going young and fresh with the draft picks of Thabeet, Carroll and Young, they turn around and do something inexplicable like take on the last two years of Randolph's burdensome contract. Why not use their salary cap room to make a run at David Lee, as many had suspected? Maybe because it's owner Michael Heisley calling the shots and he'd rather be able to dump Randolph's deal in two years than give long-term big money to Lee. They have a couple of scoring thoroughbreds in Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo, but it looks like another season of finishing way out of the money and heading back to the lottery. Again.